Compiled by Inclusive Companies, the list acknowledges and ranks businesses which are most consistent throughout the whole tenure of their organisations and encompass all types of diversity. Now in its seventh year, it has become the definitive cross-industry index harnessing both best practice and innovation with the goal of driving inclusion for all.

In recognition of their continued dedication to workplace diversity, Lincolnshire Police has been ranked 36 in The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers List 2022/23. Lincolnshire Police's position reflects the high standard to which they operate. As well as addressing areas of improvement, Lincolnshire Police have developed and delivered high impact initiatives to actively implement solutions. This long-awaited league table of the most inclusive employers finally shines a light on best practice across all strands of diversity including age, disability, gender, LGBT+, race, faith & religion.

Charley Rimmer, Director of People Services at Lincolnshire Police said: 'I am so proud to work for Lincolnshire Police and to be recognised as one of the top 50 inclusive employers is such an achievement. We continually strive to be the best version of ourselves so we can collectively put people at the heart of what we do.

"Having worked alongside Lincolnshire Police for 10 years, I am now privileged to be part of the leadership team within the force and as such take personal accountability to ensure our practices, processes and overarching culture make all our colleagues feel valued. We've achieved a lot and we know we can achieve much more and will continue to develop for all our colleagues and our communities."

Displaying a catalogue of organisations across charity, education, housing, private, and public sectors the ground-breaking list, compiled by a respected panel of judges, profiles those who have ingrained inclusion across all protected characteristics, throughout each level of employment across their business. This revolutionary initiative is the only benchmarking tool in the UK that highlights the phenomenal efforts of organisations that embed true inclusivity internally and we are proud to be featured.

Zara McArdle, Head of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion of Lincolnshire Police said: "Lincolnshire Police have our people and our communities at the heart of all that we do. Whilst the award focusses on support for protected characteristics, which are the legal requirements, diversity and inclusion is far broader than that and we are committed to improve Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) for our officers, staff, volunteers, and the communities we serve.

"Supporting the force to be accessible to all our communities, enabling us to respond effectively when someone needs our help. We want to make and see a tangible difference and have been working on initiatives to support our workforce and our communities, which have included working to become dementia-friendly, creating an accessibility working group to ensure our services are as accessible as possible, introducing community led cultural awareness workshops and developing our internal staff networks which include a carers' and a neurodiversity network."

Inclusive Companies helps organisations create cultural transformation through a 'hearts and minds' approach to increase social inclusion and empowerment with the intention of embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion into everything they practice as an essential ingredient.

Paul Sesay, Founder and CEO of Inclusive Companies said: "The balance of submissions and those which made the Top 50 was in favour of the public sector organisations and I wonder if this is because of their workforce demographic?" observed Paul. "Equally, could it be the wide and diverse audience they serve? Or perhaps it is their public accountability? The truth is most likely to lie in a mix of all three." 

Now well-established, its Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers that draws attention to those employers who are working very hard to be truly inclusive. The way the organisations are assessed means that they have avoided the all too common 'peaks and troughs' of awareness, usually brought on by a life affirming event or, all too often, a tragedy which makes its mark on society and the public consciousness. 

Paul is very aware of this and said: "The next goal of Inclusive Companies is to drive the embedding of diversity and inclusion in people's day-to-day lives and their communities through their changed and improved work practices." 

Have you ever considered working for the Police?

Find out more about local roles available with Lincolnshire Police here.